Joe Lieberman: “the committee bill reported out on a bipartisan vote, 16 to 0, with one abstention, has a balanced formula in it that…”

“the committee bill reported out on a bipartisan vote, 16 to 0, with one abstention, has a balanced formula in it that overall would increase homeland security funding to all States. We recognize with respect, and I think a sense of reality, that all of the States and all of the people of the United States are vulnerable in the war against terrorism, and there ought to be some minimum amount for our first responders at each State level. The two amendments we are going to vote on, therefore, I oppose, because they would alter the formula in the bill. Under the Feinstein amendment, 34 States lose homeland security funding as compared to the formula in the bill. I repeat, we understand there are, based on subjective risk assessments, visible targets that appear particularly in larger States that one might say were probably more likely to be targets of terrorists. We acknowledge that. Our formulas give most of the money to these areas. I repeat a number that struck me. In this fiscal year, 42 percent of the homeland security grant funding goes to 5 States: California, Texas, New York, Florida, and Illinois.”